Hello I am Candida Ackerson and I am campaigning on Stephen Blacks Behalf. Stephen is a 25 year old heroin addict who was incarsarated in August for residential burglary. Due to his drug addiction and previous actions Stephen is facing a lot of prison time. In no way is Stephen Blacks criminal actions non violent, they all stem from his ongoing heroin addict that he has been fight with for the last eight years. Right before Stephen was incarsarated he was diagnosed with Hep. C which is not uncommon amongst heroin addicts. He was arreseted before he was able to receive treatment and so has yet to receive treatment. He has talked to medical staffing and told them of his Hep. C and they have told him that they do not treat Hep. C and that he will have to wait until he goes to prison to get treatment. This is not right and is unfair for them to not treat his disease that could potentially kill him without treatment. This is against his rights as a human being. His Public Defender has been made aware of his Hep. C and has sought little to no action in Stephen's defense. Friends and family have tried to contact the public defender and district attorney about this issue and we have received no response. That is why we are making this campaign to help fight for Stephen to get him the proper legal representation that will fight the legal system to help Stephen get the treatment he needs.
Stephen Black is a non violent criminal who has broken the law and in no way should not get punished for his actions. But in stephens case of being an heroin addict sending him to prison will not help him, it will make it very much worse. As someone who knows Stephen if he goes to prison for a extended period of time he will not survive. Stephen needs a harsh drug treatment program that will help him battle his addiction exstensivly. Family and friends can tell you that in no way would Stephen be commiting these criminal actions if it was not for his severe heroin addiction. Stephen is an unbelieveable kind, loving and selfless man when he is clean and sober. He was raised in a good home with good moral values and could be a proper member of society given the chance to properly fight through his addiction. Stephen wants to be clean and sober he is tired of being stuck in his addiction. Prison will not help him fight that addiction it will make it worse. Stephen Public Defender has already written off his case and has told him there is no chance of him not spending a lot of time in prison. She will not fight for Stephen. So here we are Stephen Blacks family fight for him to get an attorney that will fight for him. That will show the courts the evidence of his drug abuse and bring his addiction up front and forward. We are asking our friends, family and anyone who is willing to help spread the word about Stephen Blacks case and if they can make a small donation to get Stephen a proper attorney. He needs our help to fight this. If you see it in your hear to help it would very much appreciated. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Candida Ackerson